Agreed. It doesn't say that practice has no effect on a person, quite the contrary. It simply states that a person in which these areas of the brain are more developed learn faster and generally do better in video games.Originally Posted by Yeargdribble
Someone didn't read the article.
It is true that both musical and language acquisition (of a second or more language) before the age of 5 will have a great benefit to a child. Namely more brain plasticity. This leads these children to generally do better in school than their counterparts. After the age of 12 it is very hard not to have an accent in a second language. Studies have also shown that playing music throughout one's life, especially in old age will help prevent Alzheimer's and general brain degeneration too.This is something I wonder. It seems to hold true in most areas. I know in music there are skills that if not acquired at a very young age (like under 3) an be virtually impossible to regain.
Studies of feral children have show than past a certain point the ability to develop language almost completely goes away.
So yeah, I could see that if someone played video games since being a kid that perhaps certain areas of the brain would be more developed or certain areas have stronger connections than a person who only started later in life. The fact remains that our brains are much more susceptible to change and develop at a young age than when we are older. However, that does not negate the importance of practice or having interest.
I also wonder what other activities share the same areas of the brain. Moreover, the mutual affliction between playing video games and other skills and vice versa. It seems that at least two of the three regions studied had some relation with the subjects' ability in improving various skills in-game. I wonder what skills those were?
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